1936 Olympics

Overview:

The 1936 Berlin Olympics were a massive propaganda success for Nazi Germany who convinced the world of Germany’s power and peaceful intentions while hiding their persecution of the Jews and Roma. Reporters who attended the games came away with a very positive feeling and expressed that feeling to the world. In a Guardian article from August 3rd, 1936, a reporter speaking about the opening of the games says “there were moments of beauty and significance which one will remember… it was a memorable ceremony, immensely enhanced by the nobility of the great Stadium in which it was carried out” (https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/aug/03/archive-1936-hitler-opens-berlin-olympic-games). Clearly the games were a massive propaganda success for Adolf Hitler.

Prior to the beginning of the Games, all signs of persecution against German Jewry and the Romani were removed. Anti-Jewish signs in parks or along the roadsides were taken down. The Roma people (Gypsies) were hidden from visitors to the Games by arresting them and relocated them to a camp named Marzahn, located on the outskirts of Berlin.

Although Germany won the most medals at the games, there were some American success stories. Jesse Owens, the world famous black track star, won a number of gold medals right under Hitler’s nose despite Hitler’s message of Aryan physical superiority. Additionally, the ragtag American rowing team from Washington University overcame the odds to win the gold against the elite German and Italian teams.

Connection to Train:

In the Novel Train, Tsura’s mother and aunt were being held in Marzahn. Just before the 1936 games, roughly 800 Roma were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to Marzahn. Throughout the novel, Tsura’s goal is to rescue them from the camp, however, all her efforts were in vain, as they were deported to Auschwitz.

Important Vocabulary Terms:

Boycott: To engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, a store, an organization, etc.) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain condition (Merriam-Webster).

Olympic Village: A self-contained district within a city hosting the Olympics, providing accommodation and amenities for competitors and other people who have an official connection with the Games (Oxford Dictionary).

Reich Sports Field: A newly constructed sports complex that covered 325 acres, included four stadiums, and was draped in Nazi symbolism (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Propaganda: The spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person (Merriam-Webster).

Maps: